When the Crafts for Export Cluster was launched for the first time in the Dominican Republic in June of this year, architect Fátima Polanco was already 18 years old when, together with two sisters, she started a business selling items including costume jewelry, her true passion.

After the experience with her sisters, she became independent in 2010, when she opened her first store and formalized her commercial activity with a view to reaching a wider and more diverse public. For this moment, it has also defined its design line and production materials in which the native, Dominican and island materials such as semi-precious stones Larimar and amber prevail.

Fátima Polanco 3 estilos, is the name of the brand created with her two sisters and that she has kept in honor of them. The designer, whose mission is to position her creations in the international market, is a member of the Dominican Federation of Artisans, FEDARTE, the National Association of Women Artisans, Designers and Artists, ANADAMA and the Promotion of Craft Development, FODEARTE, among others in the craft sector.

The Crafts Cluster of the Dominican Republic is made up of the subsectors of jewelry, fashion, accessories, textiles, decoration, wood and recycling, and is an initiative supported within the framework of the Trade and Private Sector Support component of the Haiti/Dominican Republic Binational Cooperation Program financed under the 11th International Cooperation Program. European Development Fund and implemented by Caribbean Export. Under this same program, Fatima Polanco 3 estilo is a beneficiary of the binational chain of handicrafts, jewelry, fashion and accessories.

Thanks to her participation in the program, the designer has received technical assistance for the formulation of the re-launch of her brand, with updating of the digital platform and networks.

The optimization of the brand’s graphic line, as well as having a stronger presence on the web and social networks, has contributed to the strengthening of the company, achieving a more recognizable image in the eyes of the public and more in line with its nature. On the web, we are working to improve the user experience, facilitating the navigation of potential customers and a better display of jewelry in a visually attractive catalog.

With the support of Caribbean Export, it has also acquired equipment to contribute to the development of productive capacities that in turn are at the service of the artisan sector, including women and young people interested in strengthening capacities with workshop and training programs that allow the promotion of links to increase the competitiveness of production, allowing access to international markets and thus improve the quality of life of the artisan sector. On the other hand, the opportunity to acquire endemic materials of the island for the elaboration of jewelry, which increases the economic development of the sector and that the raw material is acquired from local producers both in the country and in neighboring Haiti. This promotion contributes to strengthening the production capacity of the handicraft value chain, promoting creative diversity and optimizing product marketing processes.

Currently the raw material par excellence of Fatima Polanco’s creations are the semi-precious stones larimar and amber native to the Dominican Republic and in this way she is profiling her company as a Country Brand, “guaranteeing to show the world the beautiful shades and colors of Larimar, and position our handcrafted jewelry as the number one option in the national and international market”.

As part of this support provided by Caribbean Export, the exhibition of handcrafted jewelry “Symbiosis” was held, of which she was part, and in which the public could enjoy and purchase handcrafted jewelry made with raw materials from the island, including larimar and amber, jasper, malachite, azurite. This production, marked by process improvement and added value, corresponds to the objectives of targeting binational handicrafts to foreign markets.

For Fatima Polanco, the Agency’s support will contribute to strengthening the country’s handicraft sector in terms of training, specialization and the evolution of quality levels to meet the demands of a more demanding international market, especially the English Caribbean. The Crafts for Export Cluster is part of the results of the Caribbean Export program, whose initiative includes companies, public and academic institutions related to the jewelry, fashion and decoration sectors.

For the future, Fátima Polanco envisions teamwork in the handcrafted jewelry sector with a view to creating greater opportunities for the growth and productive and economic capacity of the sector that will position and promote it to capture new international markets, placing the Dominican Republic at the forefront with colorful and modern designs, positioning the larimar in all the showcases of the world.